Sermonette: Touch

“Wherever [Jesus] went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.” (Mark 6:56)

So much of Jesus' ministry, his miracles and healing, involved touch. The loving touch that gives life, that heals, that restores.

Father Jairus wants his daughter “to be made well, and live”, and to be made well, the hemorrhaging woman simply touched Jesus’s cloak. (Read Mark 5:21-43.)

Jesus’ life is full of stories about him touching others and being touched by others: the skin of lepers, blind eyes, deaf ears, and mute tongues.

We may see this as miraculous only through Jesus’ touch. I mean, He is God. But we shouldn’t disregard the power that touch has in our own lives, and in the lives of those around us. Health and healing is enhanced by touch. Everyday handshakes, hugs, pats-on-the-back, the touches-on-the-shoulder kind of touch.

This is science! Babies are formed immersed in touch, and require this similar touch after they’re born for proper brain development. Children can be “healed” by a simple hug after a knee scrape. Science also tells us that touch can be as destructive as it is healing, when done without love.

Humans know this is true. Remember in the throes of the pandemic when we weren’t hugging or shaking hands? When we got all choked up while watching grandkids hug their grandparents in hazmat suits? A year of lack-of-touch contributed to a rise in depression and suicide. My hunch is that we’ll be feeling the effects of this for years to come.

And touch can be more than physical. It can be a wide smile, a note, a phone call, a compliment, a thank you, a prayer.

Touch is an acknowledgment that you’re here and you matter, that your best interest is at heart, that you’re being seen and heard. No one was better at this than Jesus, who went to those who needed him most, and touched them, even those deemed untouchable.

Wherever you feel unseen, unacknowledged, unwanted; Jesus remembers you, recognizes you, affirms you, and makes you well. Amen.